Ukraine Updates
April 15, 2026
For animals left behind, the violence in Ukraine is terrifying. Explosions shatter the quiet of once-familiar neighborhoods, buildings collapse, and the streets they once roamed are suddenly filled with smoke and debris.
The boom of bombs, buzz of drones, and relentless dat-dat-dats of shellings replaced the friendly sounds of a bustling neighborhood in Druzhkivka, Ukraine, four years ago. For the dogs and cats who desperately roam the war-torn city’s streets, the daily terror is paired with the ache they feel for their missing families.
After four years of violence, the odds of reuniting lost animals with their guardians are bleak—but this PETA-backed team is doing everything they can to make these shattered families whole again. Watch what your support helped accomplish in a single month:
Animal Rescue Kharkiv’s team risks their lives every day to make the impossible happen. In March 2026, the PETA-supported team:
- Reunited 63 dogs and cats with their loving families
- Found new homes for 205 animals
- Evacuated 406 animals from the dangerous Donbas region
- Secured shelter placement for 171 puppies, two dogs, and one cat
Without Animal Rescue Kharkiv’s courage and determination, these animals would still be wandering through rubble, dodging explosions, and struggling to survive all alone. Now, they’re safe and have a chance at a fresh start.
Help PETA’s Global Compassion Fund Build a Future for Survivors
To give animals the best chance at recovery, the PETA-backed team is constantly improving and expanding its operations. Veterinary teams now operate 24/7 at both its clinic and sanctuary locations, helping animals get critical care faster than ever.
Inside the clinic, construction workers transformed a once-vacant space into a large, well-equipped laboratory. In a war zone, time is everything. Waiting days for outside test results isn’t an option when animals’ lives are at stake. As the rescue team puts it: “For us, time equals life.”
YOU Made All of This Possible
When you donate to PETA’s Global Compassion Fund, you’re sending help to animals in war zones and other disaster areas. As relentless drone strikes turn villages into wastelands, PETA-backed rescuers:
- Rush terrified dogs to safety as explosions boom.
- Pull trapped kittens from the rubble—while deadly shelling rips through nearby buildings.
- Search bombed properties and nurse gravely injured animals back to health.
- Provide long-term care to dogs and other animals who are so traumatized they cower at the slightest sound.
Your gift helps PETA entities and partners create positive, sustainable changes in corners of the Earth where animals desperately need aid and may have no other hope.
Your generous support has already helped save more than 30,000 animals from hunger, terror, and certain death in Ukraine since the war began.
Donate Now!
PETA’s Global Compassion Fund is supported exclusively by the contributions of kind individuals like you. Your gift is helping PETA entities and partners create positive, sustainable change in corners of the Earth where animals desperately need assistance—and may have no other hope.